The term compostable means that a material is compatible with a composting process. The European standard EN 13432 defines the characteristics a finished product must fulfil in order to be recovered through organic recovery. Compostable means that a material A, is biodegradable under composting conditions. B, disintegrates completely in one composting cycle. C, has no toxic effects and does not release heavy metals over a given value into the compost D, has no negative effect on the composting process itself

If a material is compostable it is automatically considered as biodegradable and can be recovered in a composting process. A biodegradable material will break down under the action of micro-organisms, but could leave residues after one composting cycle and no guarantee for toxic residues can be given. Therefore a biodegradable material cannot automatically be considered to be compostable before proof of its compostability has been given according to existing standards (EN13432). The term biodegradable is very often misused in marketing and advertising of products and materials that are not actually environmentally friendly.

Home compostability is different from industrial compostability for two main reasons: 1) the temperatures reached by the waste inside the home composting bin are usually only a few centigrade degrees higher than the outside temperature, and this is true for short time periods (in industrial composting, the temperatures reach 50°C – with peaks of 60-70°C – for a number of months); 2) home composting bins are managed by amateurs, and the composting conditions might not always be ideal (in contrast, industrial composting plants are managed by qualified personnel, and kept under ideal working conditions).

The conditions found in landfills (non-active, sealed landfills) are generally not conducive to biodegradation. As a consequence, Mater-Bi is expected not to contribute significantly to biogas formation in a landfill. This has been shown in a study carried out by Organic Waste systems.

Littering should not be encouraged under any circumstances. If a compostable Compostable Bag accidentally ends up in our environment, the biodegradation process depends on weather conditions (temperature, humidity) and how biological active the environment itself is.

Our bags are not water soluble and therefore disintegration will not start immediately, but will require several months to be achieved, primarily through hydrolysis

The biodegradability of Compostable Bags products has been demonstrated under liquid conditions and at room temperature. This is important evidence that the material is biodegradable in water and sea environments. Further laboratory studies are underway.

Starch is a resource that is available to man, just like wood, coal and oil. However, these resources are no different from the point of view of their potential because they constitute a source of energy/raw material and therefore can be used for the same final purposes; oil can be used to produce fertilizers and fuel for tractors, which are necessary to produce food. As a result, oil can indirectly produce food. Therefore, whether or not using a particular resource is ethical or not, should not be determined by how it is used but by how it is obtained and exploited (quantities, geographical areas, extraction/cultivation methods, etc.)

The area of land dedicated to the production needs of Novamont was 0.05% of the total area in Italy dedicated to producing maize.

No. Compostable Bag products will not biodegrade on the shelf. Biodegradation will only be initiated in a compost environment in the presence of micro-organisms, humidity and warmth. However, a Compostable Bag product can over time, like any other material, lose some of its mechanical properties.